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Must-See Films of the Fall: From Drug-Trafficking Lawyers to Arrow-Shooting Girls On Fire

With the fall (and winter) seasons already freezing our faces off and forcing us to take refuge in our warm, comfortable homes, why not take refuge in a place much warmer (at times) and much more entertaining than your own home: A place like, say, the movie theater. With the chilling weather and amazing turkey dinners, the fall season also brings good movies to your local theater. In my free time (and for the sake of posting more stuff here on a boring Saturday night), I compiled a list of the upcoming films that I'm most excited about, and also the ones that I have my doubts about.

Three films that are new to theaters this past week are the trio of thrillers: Ridley Scott's The Counselor, the fear-fueled blockbuster Captain Phillips (which technically came out at the beginning of this month), and the Wiki Leaks true story The Fifth Estate. As a fan of thrillers, I instantly became obsessed with these films for their fast-paced thrills and edge-of-your-seat nail-biters. First on the list is the gripping film The Counselor, directed by famous director Ridley Scott and adapted from screenplay by author Cormac McCarthy. At first, I was just intrigued to the film because of its rather stellar cast, including the likes of X-Men: First Class' Michael Fassbender and Skyfall's Javier Bardem, who both are very talented and amazing actors. Then I became amazed by the espionage and rather terrifyingly awesome nature of the film and how bad-ass the story looks. This one is defiantly my #1 film to see next. Then there's the two biopic-type films that are based off the much less exaggerated lives of the influential people that fuel the plot. The first is the cargo ship-set thriller Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks as Phillips, a man who's ship is hijacked by Somali pirates who'll stop at nothing to get what they want. I've always enjoyed biopic films based off real people, such as Lincoln (which was a bit less exaggerated and nowhere near as action-packed), because these films open up your mind to how these people might have looked and acted like when they experienced whatever the film is about. Making the film a thriller makes the film a whole lot more exciting to sit through for 2 hours. The next film is the true story of how Wiki Leaks was created, and the influential men fighting behind it. Founder of the controversial website Julian Assange (played by the talented Mr. Benedict Cumberbatch) and his colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Rush's Daniel Brühl) begin to reveal the government's biggest secrets and corporate crimes, causing a massive battle in the conflict of keeping or exposing their greatest secrets to a free society. As the film's cast and plot sounded ever so intriguing and exciting, I knew this film was a one I couldn't miss. Hopefully, I'll be able to see these films soon and get new reviews for you guys.

Some more films that have peaked my ever-growing attention this fall include the anticipated Hunger Games sequel, the Thor sequel that promised us more villainous "elf" activity, and the enticing life of Jordan Belfort, a wealthy stockbroker who gets in over his head as The Wolf of Wall Street. As a huge Marvel fan, Thor: The Dark World is obviously my top choice for the fall blockbuster, however Catching Fire of the Hunger Games trilogy also looks quite exciting to watch (even though I never really finished the books...Shhh!). Either way, the sequels to these two films look impressively better than their previous films, so hopefully Catching Fire can live up to its original book and Thor 2 can be better than that train-wreak Iron Man 3 (sorry guys, I had to mention it).

Now onto the films that caught my attention, but didn't completely interest or even hold onto it at all. At the top of the list for the films that might possibly turn out okay are Ender's Game, Last Vegas, and Grudge Match. Based on the best-selling sci-fi novel, Ender's Game tells of a young man who must rise to save the human race against an alien attack. While the story is a positive for the sci-fi fans out there, the negative I see is that the film will just be another action-packed alien film, leading it down the road towards films like Battleship or Cowboys and Aliens, that sunk quickly in the box office. However, I have good hopes for the younger cast to steal the show, unlike stars like Harrison Ford (sorry Indy) or Ben Kingsley (not sorry fake Mandarin...but sorry guys for bringing that up again), who might have lost their touch a bit. Next are the two films that only Robert De Niro starring will make them good. The first is the oldies' comedy where four friends celebrate their single friend's bachelor party in Las Vegas called (ironically) Last Vegas. While this one does have a decent cast of aging legends in film, like Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline, the real star is De Niro, who will most likely steal the show with his legendary performances. Either way, the film looks decent enough to see in theaters and seemed like a genuine comedy unlike the profanity-fueled ones of this decade. Then there's Grudge Match, the tale of two aging boxers who are forced out of retirement to fight each other again. While the film looks exciting and comical, some of the stars, although famous, seem washed out in a sense. Sylvester Stallone, who plays one of the boxers (the film is actually spoofing Rocky, if you didn't get that), seems like he's not that good on screen anymore than his younger years. Although some may disagree, I never really enjoyed the Expendables films, for both the plots or Stallone. Either way, I like the rest of the cast, with Alan Arkin as the usual funny old guy/coach in this film and partially Kevin Hart, who's comedy is sometimes quite enjoyable.

And finally we've come to the films that I believe will not be good at all. Starting with a comedy, November's Delivery Man doesn't seem like it will do decent enough to compete with the bigger films of next month. Having such an outlandish and unusual plot of a man who somehow becomes the father of 533 children after anonymously donating to a fertility clinic makes the film seem all that disappointing and odd. Another film out later this fall is 47 Ronin, starring legendary actor Keanu Reeves, about a band of samurai out for revenge of their master. While the film might have some decent action scenes and violence, the plot doesn't seem all that in depth or detailed. I have a feeling that the film will just be all violence and no story or character development. Those films, among others, don't really appeal to me as much as the bigger films out this fall and winter. But, that's just my opinion, and you guys might just love the films that I have so many doubts about.

Now that I've ranted on and on about what films to see or not to see this fall season, what films do you guys want to see this season and why? And what films are you looking forward to seeing in 2014? Don't forget to comment and follow, and I want to wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween!

Hello there! I'm Tyler, an aspiring film critic and a lover of all things movies. Here, I write about what I love, everything from my thoughts on the latest films/TV out there to discussions and speculations about future ones to come. Remember to follow and share for weekly content -- including reviews on the biggest films I see, and monthly spotlights of your favorite Hollywood stars!